A Journey Against Time
by Iheartninjago2010
Summary: Joe is wounded after trying to foil a land grab scheme. Can his little sister, Sierra, get him to a doctor in time? A sister fic, with a plot based loosely around the episodes of Land Grab and My Brothers Keeper.
1. Chapter 1

**All right, I've finally gotten this story just about finished. But before I start the first chapter there's a few things I'd like to say. First of all, let me start by saying a big thank you to my awesome beta reader, Gaben! If it hadn't been for her help, this story wouldn't be what is now. **

**Secondly, I don't own Bonanza. Anyway, now on to the first chapter!**

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A Journey Against Time

CHAPTER 1

Sierra Cartwright's small frame panted heavily, as she concentrated on dragging the hastily made travois behind her. Even though her thin cotton shirt hid the marks, the burning sensation on her right shoulder and under her left arm told her that the thick gnarly rope, fastened to the travois, had and still was rubbing her skin raw. But the pain she felt from the rope was nothing compared to the fire she felt in the lower part of her right side. The shooting pains and the warm sticky wetness there reminded her that she couldn't keep going for much longer.

Glancing up at the burning sun, she decided to stop and rest for a minute. She dropped the rope on the ground and leaned against one of the hard rock walls that surrounded her, before sliding down to rest on the large rock at the wall base. More than anything, she wanted to lie down and sleep, to succumb to the pain threatening to take over her body. Sleep would feel so good just now, she thought longingly and felt her eyelids begin fall. Maybe she could... just for a few seconds...

"No!" she reminded herself, giving her head a vigorous shake; after which she wished she hadn't. She couldn't afford to sleep now. She had to keep going. Her dust covered hands moved up hold her head as she desperately willed the sudden headache to go away, and after a few minutes, it did. She used her bandanna to wipe the sweat from her brow and push the damp brown locks out of her eyes, before reaching for the canteen that she had stowed on the travois beside her brother's unconscious figure. It was only half full, so she drank sparingly. The water was hot and metallic tasting, but it was wet and that was enough to clear away the dryness that seemed to be trying to clog her throat.

Screwing the cap back on the canteen, Sierra stood shakily to her feet and slowly made her way over to the travois where her older brother lay. She knelt beside him on the rocky ground and studied his unconscious face, hoping for any sign of improvement from the last time she had checked him. No such luck. His face was pale, but the cloth covering the gash on his forehead showed no sign of blood, meaning that at least the bleeding hadn't started again. The left side of his jaw was swollen from the punch he had taken there. She pushed back the side of his unbuttoned shirt to check the cloth that she had previously pressed against the wound in his shoulder. No bleeding. Gently, she propped him up just enough so that she could check the bullet's exit wound just below his shoulder blade. It too showed no sign of bleeding; that was good. Earlier, she hadn't thought she'd ever get either of those wounds to stop bleeding. She glanced down at his right leg to make sure that the splint she put on it was still doing its job.

With a sigh of relief, she gently pressed her shaking fingers to her brother's wrist and felt his pulse. Weak, but at least it was still there. Despite the sweltering heat, she noticed him shivering. A quick touch to his forehead told her that a high fever had set in.

Sierra didn't know for sure how long he could hold out, but she knew the urgency of the situation. Her brother had lost a lot of blood and though she had been able to clean the wounds and quell the bleeding for a while, she was no doctor. That was what he needed. A doctor. And he needed one soon. The nearest doctor was in Virginia City. She didn't know exactly how far away that was from where they were at, but she had a pretty fair idea that it was a good several miles.

If only the horses hadn't run off when they'd heard the first shots being fired. She wished Adam and Hoss were there. She'd be able to get Joe to the doctor much quicker with their help. Oh, why had she gone too far into the woods earlier? Why hadn't she just crouched at the edge and waited?

"Because Adam had told her to run and take Joe with me," she said out loud, not sure whether she regretted it or resented it, knowing only that now, she was worried.

As far back as she could remember, Adam's word had always carried as much weight as Pa's. When he said do something, she usually did it. He was almost like a second father to her whenever Pa wasn't around. It was probably because of the large age difference between them. True, there were times that she stopped to question or argue with him, but in the end, he almost always won.

Sierra wasn't the only one he tried to father though. She had seen him try that same act on Hoss and Joe many times. They accepted it sometimes, mostly when they were younger, but usually they balked him whenever he tried it now. She could remember watching it end many times in a fight, either with their words or their fists. She guessed it was part of being a big brother. Come to think of it, all three of her brothers often liked to try and boss her around at times, seeing as she was the youngest.

Thinking about her oldest brothers made her wish even more that they were there. She wasn't even sure that they were all right. When Adam had yelled at her to run and to take Joe with her, he and Hoss had been busy trying to duck and dodge the blows that were being thrown from the two men that had held Joe hostage. At least she knew that they were finished using the guns. The men had only had a few bullets left which they had used up quickly at the beginning of the fight. One of which had passed through Joe's shoulder and the other was still lodged somewhere in her side.

That thought as well as the fiery pains that radiated from the wound in her side reminded Sierra that she needed to tend to her own self also. She didn't even have to remove the torn piece of cloth to know that it was bleeding again. The warm, sticky wetness that had already soaked through her makeshift bandage told her that. With shaky fingers, she tore another strip of cloth from one of her already torn up sleeves. She removed the blood soaked cloth and gently placed the new one in its place, applying firm pressure on the wound.

But, the blood flow refused to be stopped that easily. Instead, it soaked through the fresh cloth within a matter of seconds. More and more strips of cloth were torn from her sleeves and applied to her wound.

Finally the bleeding did stop and Sierra breathed a shaky breath of relief. Tearing another strip from her sleeve, she re-bandaged the wound. She didn't know how long it would be before it started bleeding again, but she hoped it wouldn't be for awhile. The loss of blood was making her dizzy and sick to her stomach as it zapped all of her strength and energy that she desperately needed. She had to get her brother to a doctor. He was in worse shape than she was, and it was up to her to save them.

Once she was satisfied that the bandage was secure, she raised her head to contemplate the rocky slope in front of her. Sure it wasn't going to be an easy climb, especially since she herself had almost spent all of her remaining energy getting them this far. The wound in her side was slowing her down drastically, slowly draining her of every last ounce of strength. Why had she chosen to go this way? Why hadn't she taken the trail to the road? It was much easier than trying to drag the travois up the rough mountain slope.

"Because this way was shorter," she reminded herself with conviction and determination. At first it had seemed like a good idea, course that was partly because they had been riding a horse. Sometime during the climb, the horse had slipped on some loose rock, resulting in the three of them tumbling down the steep slope. Unfortunately, the horse had not survived the fall. Aside from being knocked unconscious for a few minutes as well as a few minor scrapes and bruises, Sierra had been unhurt. Joe however had suffered a broken leg.

A sudden moan from Joe brought Sierra back to the present. Sucking in a deep breath, an action that she regretted with a grimace, she looked down at her brother's sleeping face.

"Hang on, Joe, just hang on," she whispered to him softly. "I'll get you to a doctor. Then everything'll be all right."

'Everything'll be all right. Everything'll be all right.' Sierra repeated that phrase over and over again in her mind as she lifted the rope up around her and once more began the slow trek up the slope.

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**Well, there's the first chapter. What do you think? Be sure to leave your comments in the reviews and go have an awesome day/night!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, I didn't get many reviews on the last chapter, but I would like to say thank you to those that did leave a review. The majority of this chapter is a flashback. I think you'll like this chapter a little better, though, as this is when the action comes in. So I think I'll save the rest of this note for at the end of the chapter! Hope you enjoy!

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CHAPTER 2

Gunshots were echoing through the run-down shack; the sound of men's angry voices mixed with Sierra's screams of terror and his brothers' firm demanding voices.

"Joe, Joe, can you hear me?"

Someone was calling his name, but who was it? It sounded like his sister, but the thick haze in his brain made him unsure. The other sounds had stopped and he wondered if they were really real or if he had just dreamed them. He wouldn't be surprised if they had been a dream; after all, he had always been the one to have awful nightmares.

"Joe, can you hear me?"

There was the voice again. This time he was sure it was his sister's. Something was wrong, though. Her voice sounded shaky and weak, as if she was trying to keep fear out of her voice, but failing miserably.

What could be wrong? And why was she trying to wake him up? Oh, he felt so sleepy. What time was it anyway? Was the sun even up yet? Joe tried to open his eyes to see, but they felt so heavy. He must've really worn himself out fixing fences the day before in order for him to be this worn out. Trying again with a little more force, he was able to open his eyes just a crack and saw that it was night.

"Joe, please wake up," his sister's voice begged him.

It's still night time, go back to bed, is what he wanted to tell her, but for some reason his tired out muscles refused to obey. She'll go away in a little bit, he told himself, as he started to succumb to the force called sleep that was pulling him under.

"Please, Joe, I need you to wake up."

Oh, why wouldn't she just leave him alone? Didn't she know how tired he was? He was going to have to tell her if he expected to get anymore sleep that night.

Slowly Joe forced his heavy eyelids open. Through the blur, he could make out the form of his sister's face as she hovered over him, anxiously waiting for him to wake up, and saw a small shaky smile appear on her face. His eyes blinked several times as he tried to clear his vision. Once he did, he realized that he wasn't in his room at all. A rock ceiling had replaced his normal wooden one. Where were they?

Joe started to raise up off of the pine covered travois but was stopped by a sharp, suffocating pain in his shoulder.

"Easy, Joe, just lie still," came Sierra's voice, as he felt her slip her arm behind his back and gently lower him back down onto the travois.

Once Joe had caught his breath, he let out several coughs and realized how dry his throat was. Apparently his sister realized it too because she raised the canteen to his dry lips.

"Where- where are we?" Joe asked once he had drunk his fill.

"On the top on the mountain above where those men's shack was," Sierra informed him. Joe looked at her puzzled.

"What men?" he asked.

Sierra studied him carefully for a minute before answering.

"You don't remember?"

Joe shook his head.

"Those men that were behind the land scheme?"

Suddenly, it all came back to Joe.

_**Flashback...**_

For weeks, people had been showing up in town claiming that they had bought portions of land that turned out to be part of the Ponderosa. It had been a well planned scheme; each person who had bought the land described the seller differently. Come to find out that the seller had been a band of men who had changed their drastically appearances many times in the hopes that no one would recognize them. While out checking fences, Joe and Sierra had stumbled upon their hiding place, an old abandoned shack at the furthermost corner of the Ponderosa. They had heard the men talking and had soon figured out their involvement in the scheme.

"Sis, ride back and get Adam and Hoss," Joe whispered to Sierra while they sat watching the shack from behind the low brush.

"And what're you gonna do?" Sierra asked quietly.

"I'm gonna keep an eye on them," Joe replied, a little curious as to what his sister thought he was going to do.

"You're gonna stay right here and not do anything?" Sierra wondered, the tone of her voice telling Joe that she did not believe he would.

"I won't do anything that I don't have to do!" Joe told her in a voice just above a whisper. "Now go!"

Sierra hadn't been completely satisfied with his answer, but she knew that once he got it into his head to do something, there was nothing that she could do to stop him. Hurrying back through the woods as quietly as possible, Sierra made her way back to where they had left the horses.

Joe heaved a sigh of relief once Sierra had finally gone as he focused once more on the shack. Seeing no one outside, Joe carefully crept towards the shack, stopping just underneath the small window next to the door and listened to the conversation inside.

"If it weren't for old man Cartwright and those boys of his, we wouldn't have to hide out here in the middle of nowhere," Joe heard someone say in a voice that sounded more like a whine. "Look at us, living in this old shack that looks like it would fall down if something were to tap it."

"Aw, it may not look like much, but this shack's pretty sturdy," another man assured him just as the wind picked up outside, causing the shack to creak and groan as its walls shifted slightly against the wind.

"Dadburnit!" a gruff voice exclaimed as he slammed something- Joe thought it sounded like his hat- down hard on a wooden surface. "I'd like to get my hands on them Cartwrights just once! Just once- that's all it would take to make Ben and those high and mighty boys of his regret that they ever messed with Ol' Tate here!"

"Don't forget that girl neither," another man's voice added. "This is just as much her fault as it is them boys'."

A wicked laugh was heard followed by the man named Tate's gruff voice. "Oh, don't you worry, I won't forget that purty little gal," he assured the others. "I've got something special planned for her." Tate's wicked laughter continued and the others joined in as they understood what he meant.

Joe felt his blood begin to boil. Common sense had told him to back away from the shack quietly and return later with help. But, it was a well known fact that Joseph Cartwright rarely listened to common sense. Drawing his pistol from his gun belt, he had burst into the shack, not stopping to consider the consequences. He had managed to wound one of the men in the arm, but it was not enough to stop him from fighting. The other men quickly overpowered him and before Joe knew what had happened, he found himself captured; his hands and feet securely tied in order to ensure that he wouldn't be leaving without their permission.

Joe wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed until he heard the faint sound of a bird whistle. To anyone who was not familiar with birds, the whistle could have easily been mistaken as an actual bird's call. But, to Joe, Adam's familiar signal was a sound that sent excitement through his body. He caught himself just before his head jerked up to stare out the window. An action like that was surely to alert his captors to his siblings' presence. Although he didn't know who was outside, he felt relieved knowing that help was near.

The door was thrown open with an echoing bang and there stood Adam in the doorway, his pistol raised, ready to fire at the first sign of threat. Behind him Joe could make out the larger form of his brother Hoss, who too had withdrawn his pistol from his gun belt.

The sudden arrival of his brothers caught Joe's captors of guard. It took them a minute to realize what was going on before they jumped up to scramble for their guns. A shot rang out, freezing the men in their tracks.

"Don't try it, gentlemen," Adam warned them, the gun in his hand still smoking from its previous use. Satisfied that his order was being obeyed, Adam glanced over at his youngest brother who still sat against the wall, his feet bound tightly like his arms which were tied behind his back.

"You all right, Joe?" he asked.

Joe nodded. "Fine as a frog hair," had been his reply, shooting his brothers a relieved grin.

Adam turned to someone who was still hidden from view behind the wall of the shack. Though Joe couldn't see the person, he could tell by the look on his oldest brother's face that Adam wasn't too pleased with them for whatever reason.

"Go cut him loose," he told the person as he held out his pocketknife to them and stepped further into the shack, leaving the doorway open. Joe didn't know why he was surprised to see his sister enter the room and make her way towards him.

It didn't take long for him to figure why Adam was upset with her. Joe was pretty sure that as soon as Adam had mapped out a plan, he had most likely tried to convince Sierra to stay in the safety of the surrounding forest. Joe stifled a chuckle as he imagined the stubborn, angry look that the girl must've given her oldest brother in reply. Adam wouldn't have allowed an argument to ensue, but then Sierra wouldn't have minded him anyway. Joe was more than certain as to the reasons for the scowls on both his younger and oldest siblings' faces.

Sierra flashed him a smile, as she flipped open the knife and began sawing through the thick ropes. That was when he realized that she wasn't using Adam's knife. Instead, this knife was smaller with an ivory carved handle. With this observation, he remembered the earlier exchange in the doorway between Sierra and Adam that he had almost missed. Adam had held his knife out to her, but Sierra, with a self-sufficient air, had simply brushed past him, slipping her hand into the pocket of her split skirt and pulling out her own pocketknife.

A loud crash was heard from behind Sierra, causing Joe to scramble to his feet the moment that his limbs were free from the ropes. It only took him a second to figure out what had happened. Adam and Hoss were dazedly picking themselves up off the floor that was now littered with scraps of wood from whatever they had been hit with. Joe felt his temper heat up inside of him and he launched himself at the man nearest him. His older brothers soon regained their senses and they too joined him in the fight.

Both sides grabbed whatever they could to fight with. Chairs and tables were broken over backs, while fists were flung at faces and guns knocked out of hands. At one time, Hoss charged the melee, taking a group of bodies outside and in front of the shack that was now in a shambles.

While her brothers were busy fighting, one man had been unnoticed as he made his way over to the corner where Sierra was standing.

"Hey, sweetheart, why don't you be a good girl and come with Ol' Tate here?" he said quietly, a wicked grin on his face as he approached her.

The grin on his face sent shivers through Sierra's body and the coldness in his eyes made her blood run cold. She could only imagine what he had in mind and Sierra had no desire to find out what it was. He had almost reached her. Sierra backed up and found that he still did not stop. She continued to back up until she felt the hard roughness of the wood on her back. Terror filled her mind; Tate was still coming. Why hadn't she thought before? This was exactly what the man had wanted to do; to get her backed into a corner where she couldn't escape. He had almost reached her. She heard him let out a wicked chuckle. He was enjoying seeing the fright in her eyes.

"Well now, honey, let's not have any struggle, seeing as there's no where's for ya to go," Tate told her as reached a filthy, calloused hand out to brush her cheek.

Anger mixed with panic flashed through her and before she knew it, she had slapped his hand away. Immediately, Sierra almost regretted her action. The look on the man's face turned to anger as his face turned a deep red color.

"You're gonna regret that, girlie," he threatened as he squeezed her forearm roughly.

'Don't let him see you're afraid.' she silently coached herself.

How many times had her brothers told that during her self-protection lessons? Until that moment, Sierra hadn't realized how hard that was. She wasn't merely afraid; she was terrified. Never in all of her fifteen years could she recall being so frightened, though that was probably because her father and her three older brothers had always protected her from men like the one in front of her. But her father wasn't there and her brothers had their hands full with their own battles. She was going to have to face this one by herself.

'Oh, why didn't I listen to Adam and stay with the horses?' Sierra thought to herself, though she already knew the answer. She had her Cartwright stubbornness to thank for that.

Another rough squeeze on her forearm had brought Sierra back to the man who stood in front of her.

"You know something, you're kinda purty for a cowgirl," Tate told her. "Especially seeing as you're with scoundrels as ugly as those." He gestured over his shoulder toward where Adam and Joe were still engaged in fight, but his eyes never left Sierra. His hand rose up to touch her face. Sierra felt herself cringe inside. That wicked grin was still on his face. "Right purty indeed," he confirmed.

Sierra knew she had to get away from him. Frantically, her eyes scanned her surroundings before finally settling on a plan. With lightning speed, Sierra kneed the man in the groin as hard as she could. Tate howled in pain, and dropped to the dirt floor. Sierra wasted no time. She immediately rushed for the door of the shack.

But she was not quick enough. Tate caught her braid as she fled, causing Sierra to let out a cry of pain and she felt tears come to her eyes as she was roughly jerked back. With one hand, Tate held her arms behind her back in a painful position and with the other he pulled out a pistol which he aimed out the window and shot.

The gunshot caught the attention of the Cartwright boys and the other men who were fighting. From outside the shack, Hoss watched as two men shoved Adam and Joe out of the shack and onto the dusty ground just before a large man appeared in the doorway, dragging Sierra with him.

"Let her go!" Joe commanded as he jumped up from where he had landed in the dirt, his anger boiling at the sight of his sister being harmed. Adam and Hoss too felt their tempers rising, but they were trying their best to control them. They hoped that their youngest brother wouldn't do anything drastic.

"I really don't think you are in any position to tell me what to do," Tate told Joe as he waved his pistol in the air as a reminder. "Get their gun's Zeb, and take them inside."

Adam scowled at the man now picking up the guns that been dropped during their scuffle. He turned back to the man that held his sister. "All right, what do you want?" Adam asked the man.

"You're very perceptive, young man," Tate replied. "What I want is for us to be able to get out of here without any more trouble." He paused a moment before continuing. "And I think that's what you're little sister here's gonna help us do."

"What are you getting at?" Hoss asked, not sure as to exactly why the man wanted Sierra. Tate chuckled softly.

"I'm gonna take your sister here along with us to ensure that nobody follows us," he informed them. "And if any of you try to follow us, well, let's just say that this purty little thing won't be so purty anymore." He studied each of the Cartwright boys in turn. "So do we have a deal?"

The three Cartwright boys stayed silent for a moment, Adam using his peripheral vision to scan the area.

"I take that as a deal," chuckled the leader of the gang. "Zeb, Clem, Jake; get the horses ready. "

"Jake's gotta couple a broken ribs, boss," the man called Clem said.

"Fine, set him up in the corner there, he can still point a gun at these three while you go get the horses. Now move."

Joe couldn't suppress his anger any longer. "You're not taking my sister anywhere," he said, his voice low and dangerous. Adam and Hoss still remained silent, but Sierra could see that their minds were working rapidly to come up with a plan. From the tone of Joe's voice, though, it sounded like he wasn't going to wait to find out. Either that or he had a plan of his own.

"I'm sorry, young man, but I'm afraid that I didn't hear you. What did you say?" Tate asked, in a tone that said he had heard Joe plainly but dared him to say it again.

Joe took a step forward and repeated his statement. Instead of threatening Joe like Sierra was afraid he would, the man started to laugh. A quick glance at Joe told her that the man's laughter was doing the same amount of damage to Joe's dangerously hot temper as an insult would've done. Joe was literally seething. It wouldn't take much to ignite him now. Sierra shot a terrified glance at Adam and Hoss who were standing behind Joe by a few feet. She hoped that they would be able to keep Joe from doing something foolish.

As if reading her thoughts, the two oldest Cartwrights stepped forward to take hold of their youngest brother, but the man holding them at rifle point was too close for comfort. Adam also couldn't be sure that the other two wouldn't suddenly appear from nowhere. All they could do was pray that Joe, for once, would be sensible.

Sierra turned her eyes back to Joe as Tate continued to laugh. She could see the fury in her brother's eyes as he battled against his anger for control. His fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides as he stood in battle ready position.

'Please, Joe, don't do anything rash,' Sierra's eyes pleaded with her brother's as their eyes met. For a moment, Sierra thought he was going to listen. Then the laughter stopped and Tate spoke again.

"If you think you can stop me from taking your sister with us, I'd like to see you try, you little runty nosed pipsqueak."

Jake, sitting on the edge of the porch nursing his broken ribs but pointing his rifle clearly at Adam and Hoss, chuckled along with his boss, then stopped and groaned in pain. "Don't make me laugh, Boss, it hurts. The pipsqueak sure is a hot head though, ain't he?"

That was all Joe could take. As Sierra watched, she could almost see his self-control snap, giving free reign for his anger to take over. And it did.

To Sierra, it seemed as if everything was happening in slow motion. Joe launched himself at the man who was holding her. As he sailed towards them, Sierra knew that Joe was going to hit his target.

'But there was one thing Joe had forgotten in his rage ' Sierra realized with alarm. The gun in Tate's hand.

Sierra tried to warn Joe. She tried to tell him to look out for it. But her voice wouldn't obey. But it was too late. The gun went off a split second before Joe collided with Tate, knocking the three of them to the floor inside the shack.

Adam and Hoss saw their chance also. Jake was distracted enough for Adam to hurl a stone at him and then dive to disarm him. Hoss dived the other way and was about to join Joe, when shots were fired from the bushes. He zigged then zagged and dived behind a tree as bullets ricocheted off it.

Adam disarmed the now severely wounded Jake and headed in the direction of Hoss, covering his trail with return fire. " Hoss, I'll hold them off and keep them out of the shack. Can you get back to the horses get another rifle?"

"Sure, but Joe and Sierra?"

Neither brother could see what was happening; they could hear the struggle, but they knew better than to make a run for it while they were under fire from the two in the bushes. "Either way, we'll need another gun, Hoss."

Hoss nodded and took off up the incline behind them.

Meanwhile back in the shack, the force of hitting the floor had caused Tate to lose his hold on Sierra, who quickly scrambled for the gun which was still in his hand. As they wrestled for the gun, Sierra heard other gunshots from outside.

"Let go or I'll kill you!" Tate yelled at Sierra. Sierra didn't respond, as it took everything she had just to keep the gun pointed away from her. She knew that she couldn't let go of the gun; he would probably kill her either way.

The man rolled her over on her back so that he was on top of her; he held her down by the shoulder with one arm, while his other hand aimed the gun almost directly at her chest. In just a few seconds it would be in the perfect position for him to kill her. She grasped his wrist, trying to pry the weapon away, then let go when she saw his finger on the trigger as he began to pull it back, a wicked smile on his face. Frantically, with new-found strength, Sierra suddenly grabbed the barrel with both hands and pushed upwards. It wasn't enough to dislodge the weapon from his grip, or the trigger, however it was enough to push it away from her chest and have it now pointed under the man's chin, just as he instinctively pulled the trigger. The man's body stiffened suddenly as the bullet travelled upwards; through his gullet and out of the top of his skull. He went limp and fell to the floor just as Sierra rolled out of the way.

Breathing deeply, Sierra had to look away from Tate's limp form and his frozen expression of surprise. She suppressed the bile rising in her throat as she thought of how close she had come to being in his place.

A quiet moan nearby drew her attention and she turned to find Joe lying on the floor in the exact position he had landed in when he had knocked Tate to the floor. Quickly, Sierra made her way over to him and found that he was unconscious. There was a red stain on the back of his shirt. At first this puzzled Sierra, seeing as he was shot from the front, but as she turned him over, she realized the reason for the two wounds. The one in his back was the bullet's exit wound. Sierra tore strips of cloth from her long sleeved shirt and reached inside his shirt to press them against her brother's wounds.

"Joe! Sierra!" The distant sound of Adam's voice calling her name caught her attention. She ran to the window where she could just make out Adam and Hoss busy returning gun fire to the two other men. She looked around the shack, the signs of the earlier struggles scattered everywhere including Tate and a few other men mortally wounded. Sierra counted three or four men who were lying either dead or close to on the floor. "Joe! Sierra, get out of there!"

"Adam, Joe's hurt!" Sierra called back to him, trying to make her voice sound less weak than she was feeling.

"How bad?" she heard Adam call.

"Not bad; it's his shoulder, I think..."

"Just get both of you out of here! We'll cover you." Adam's voice came again as he returned fire towards the remaining two outlaws near the side of the shack.

Sierra looked down at Joe and saw that he was just starting to stir.

"Joe, Joe, I need you to wake up," Sierra called to her brother's sleeping form. Slowly, his eyes opened.

"What happened?" Joe asked.

"You were shot," was Sierra's reply. For a moment Joe looked puzzled, but the sound of gunshots, soon reminded him of their situation. "Joe, Adam said for us to get out of here. Do you think you can walk?"

"I think so," he replied as he slowly pushed himself to a sitting position.

With Sierra's help, Joe was soon outside the back door of the shack. He was weak from the loss of blood and he was rapidly losing more. Sierra knew that she was going to have to get the bleeding stopped and soon. At that moment, she regretted the fact that they had left their horses tied up the trail a ways. There was no way Joe they would be able to get past the gun fight going on in front of the shack. He couldn't walk much farther nor could she carry him; though she was already supporting the majority of his weight.

Relief washed over her as Sierra heard a horse whiny. Turning to the side, Sierra saw to her delight a horse standing tied to a tree at the corner of the shack.

"Come on, Joe, just a little bit farther," Sierra told him as they approached the horse. Joe's only response was his heavy breathing and a soft groan.

Somehow Sierra managed to get Joe up onto the horse before swinging up behind him. As she reached her arms around his body to take the reins, Sierra heard someone run out of the bushes..

"Hey, that's my horse! You come back here with my horse!" Clem yelled at them as he began running towards them.

Adam tried to get a shot at Clem as he passed. However, he barely managed to dive just as Zeb fired a shot that came far too close to Adam's head, grazing it as it whizzed past. Adam panicked for a moment before he heard the running hoofs of the horse his brother and baby sister must have taken, and took cover again close to Hoss.

As soon as Sierra kicked the horse, it took off running, speeding away from the shack as if it sensed their need to get away from there. Gunshots behind them told them that Clem wasn't going to let them get away that easily.

"He's shooting at us," Joe said in a voice that sounded more like a groan.

"I know," Sierra replied, the worry evident in her voice.

They reached the end of the canyon and the horse rounded the bend so that they were out of sight of the shack and the man. As they turned to go around the corner, Joe felt Sierra jerk behind him and breathe in sharply. The reins went slack and Joe quickly grabbed them.

"Sierra! Are you all right?" Joe asked his sister.

"Yeah," was Sierra's response. "I'm fine."

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Well, what do you think?

Now, let me answer a few questions that people have asked me.

**mGm:** Thanks! Sierra is 15 years old and no she's not going to be a 'Mary Sue' type girl! ;) She is very much a tomboy and I hope to bring out this point more in either later chapters or stories. I guess her name is a little odd. Maybe I'll write a story about her birth that might make her name make a little more sense. LOL, yes, that would be funny!

**Islabloe** and **Dreamer1992**: Thanks so much for your interest! I love hearing from all my readers!

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! Please make sure to leave a comment in the reviews and have an awesome day/night!


	3. Chapter 3

Oh, wow! There has been a total of 195 views for this story so far! I can't believe it! I'd like to say a special thank you to **gaben, islaboe,** and **fluffykitty12** for their reviews! I'm always excited to hear from my readers and who knows? More reviews may mean faster updates! (hint, hint ) Anyway, as usual, I don't own Bonanza.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

-/-/-/-/-

CHAPTER 3

_As they turned to go around the corner, Joe felt Sierra jerk behind him and breathe in sharply. The reins went slack and Joe quickly grabbed them._

"_Sierra! Are you all right?" Joe asked his sister. _

"_Yeah," was Sierra's response. "I'm fine."_

_**Flashback continued...**_

Something in his sister's voice had told Joe that Sierra wasn't telling him the truth. He knew that he should probably force her to tell him the truth, but was reminded of her stubborn nature when he considered this action. Joe knew he was in no condition to argue with her, so he quickly gave up the idea and instead concentrated on staying on the horse.

Sierra had taken the reins back from him a while ago, for which Joe was glad as the dizzy feeling in his head would've made it hard for him to see where they were going. His shoulder was hurting like crazy and he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out from the pain every time he moved it.

Joe knew from the sticky, wet feeling that his wounds were still bleeding. The cloth that Sierra had pressed up against the wounds had long been soaked through. Joe had torn more pieces of cloth from his own shirt sleeves and pressed them to the wounds, not bothering to remove the soaked cloth strips that his sister had previously placed there.

Once they were sure that they were safely away from the shack, Sierra brought the horse to a halt in the shelter of some trees. Joe heard the sound of rushing water and knew there was creek running somewhere nearby. Careful not to move his shoulder, he allowed Sierra to help him dismount, though he did his best not to lean too heavily on her, his gut telling him, that she was hurt was too.

As Sierra gently washed his wounds, Joe watched her movements as best he could and tried to figure out where she was hurt. However, he didn't have much luck, as the amount of blood loss was beginning to catch up with him and he was struggling to stay awake. With his good arm, Joe pressed the dry pieces of cloth to the wound in front of his shoulder while Sierra pressed on the one below his shoulder blade.

After using all of the cloth from Joe's sleeves and some from Sierra's, the bleeding slowed and finally came to a stop. With a sigh of relief, Sierra tied a bandage in place over the wounds. Joe had lost his battle against sleep sometime ago and was now resting peacefully. His face was pale from the loss of blood, but Sierra figured that sleep was the best thing for him at the moment. There was nothing else she could do to help him, but get him to a doctor as quick as possible, without opening the wound.

The sun had gone down while she had been tending to Joe. Glancing around, Sierra realized that this really wasn't a good place to stop for the night, though she hadn't noticed how late it was when she had stopped. A quick glance at Joe told her that this spot would have to do for tonight. She only hoped that no wild animals would find them.

The whiny of the horse reminded her that she had left his tack on him. Standing to her feet, Sierra carefully made her way over to him, thankful for the light of the full moon. She slipped the bit out his mouth and tied his reins to a sturdy tree where he could reach water and grass. After undoing the cinch, Sierra reached up to lift the heavy saddle from the horse's back.

Instantly, she dropped her arms to her side with a quiet cry of pain as she was reminded of the wound in her side. With the anxiousness of trying to tend to Joe's wounds, Sierra had forgotten about herself. Using the light of the moon as a guide, Sierra carefully washed the wound and tore more strips from her sleeves to try and stop the bleeding. She knew that the bullet needed to be removed but she also knew that there was no way that she could do it. And with the condition Joe was in, neither could he. She sucked in another deep breath and bit her lip to keep herself from crying out from the pain, hoping that the bullet had not caused any major damage to vital organs.

"Why is it that now that when I had forgotten about this wound, it didn't hurt so much?" Sierra wondered to herself. If it hadn't been for the excruciating pain, she probably would've laughed.

Though the sun had made the day hot, Sierra knew that the night was going to be cold. Since they had left in a hurry, she hadn't taken time to grab any supplies. Slowly, Sierra scooted over to where Joe was lying and carefully laid down beside him. She knew that she should probably stay awake and keep guard, but the sleepy feeling was rapidly taking over weak body and, like Joe, Sierra was quickly losing. As she fell asleep, Sierra's last thought was to hope that Adam and Hoss were all right and that they would find them soon.

-/-/-/-/-/-

Meanwhile, Adam and Hoss had camped for the night about half a mile away from where Sierra and Joe were. Aside from some bruises and scrapes, a black eye, and a bullet crease, both of them for the most part unhurt. If it hadn't been for the sheriff and several other men from Virginia City riding up when they did, both boys knew they probably would've been hurt a lot worse or held up with the standoff until someone ran out of bullets. When the sheriff called out, Clem and Zeb quickly surrendered, knowing they were outnumbered and the only ones of their gang left standing.

The sheriff had offered to send a few of the men along with the boys as they went after the two youngest Cartwrights. Adam and Hoss had declined knowing the sheriff would need every one of the men to get the land schemers into town to the jail and the dead gang members to the morgue. With any hope, they would catch up to Serra and Joe before nightfall, hoping that they took the shortcut over the range which was ten miles closer to Virginia City. Just in case Roy got there before them, they gave him a message to deliver to their father at the Ponderosa on his way through.

Sierra and Joe's horse's trail had been easy to follow and the boys had quickly gained on them. But then the sun had set and even with the light of the full moon, there wasn't enough light to make out the trail and, much to their frustration, they had soon lost it.

Much to Adam's frustration, when they had finally stopped to camp for the night, Hoss had insisted on bandaging the wound that had been left on his older brother's head when the bullet had grazed him. Now they were sitting on either side of the small campfire, drinking coffee. Neither of them were doing much talking as the concern for their younger siblings was forefront in each of their minds. Finally, Hoss broke the silence first.

"How's your head?" he asked. Adam continued to stare intently into the fire and didn't respond. "Adam?" Adam's head jerked up as if he had been startled.

"What?" he wondered as he absently took another sip of the now cold coffee. Hoss repeated his question. "Its fine; just a graze," Adam told his younger brother, his tone almost daring Hoss to contradict him. Other times, Hoss might would have, but that night he didn't. Instead, he watched as Adam returned to his staring and let the night's stillness surround them.

After a few minutes, Hoss again decided to break the silence.

"Adam, don't you think we had better turn in if we're to be up with the sun?"

Again, Adam didn't respond; he only continued to stare into the fire.

"Adam?" Hoss tried to get his brother's attention.

"I'm listening," Adam told him, still not taking his eyes off the flames.

"I said, 'don't you think we had better turn in if we're to be up with the sun?'" Hoss asked him again.

"Yeah," Adam replied, dropping his head to stare down at his coffee cup.

Hoss studied his older brother carefully. Being the oldest, Adam had always taken on the responsibility of looking out for his younger siblings. As far back as he could remember, Adam had always blamed himself if any of them had gotten hurt when he was around. Most of the time, though, it wasn't his fault. Now, as he studied his brother, Hoss knew what was going through his mind.

"Adam," Hoss called his brother's name. "Adam, none of this is your fault." Adam looked across at Hoss, the look of sadness still in his eyes.

"Yes, it is," Adam told Hoss. "I'm the one who sent Sierra out there with Joe. She tried to tell me that he was hurt, but I didn't listen."

Hoss stood to his feet and crossed over to sit on the log beside his brother.

"Adam, you sent Sierra and Joe out of there because you were trying to protect them," Hoss reminded him. "Remember how that man was going to try and use Sierra as a getaway hostage? If you hadn't I've sent them out here, they might've tried somethin' else, somethin' worse."

Adam sighed. "Joe's hurt, Hoss. Sierra's just a kid."

"Yeah, she is, but she said it weren't bad. She knows enough about scrapes and such. She's the only one that coulda got Joe outta there. Don't worry so much, I'm sure they're almost home by now."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't let Sierra come with us in the first place, none of this would've happened," Adam replied.

Hoss chuckled. "If I remember right, you didn't exactly 'let' her come us," Hoss reminded him as he remembered the stubborn look on their little sister's face when she refused to allow them to leave her behind.

"_Either you let me come with you, or I follow you by myself." _Those had been her exact words. She'd stood facing Adam, feet firmly planted, legs apart, arms crossed, her chin raised so that she could look Adam in the eye. She was still puffing after riding at full pelt to the north pasture to tell them about Joe's half cocked plan to search for the leaders of the land swindle. Hoss had to admit that for a skinny fifteen year old girl whose full height was 5'2", she'd looked pretty fierce. Adam had stared at her for what seemed like forever.

"_You're not serious," Adam had said raising a warning brow at his little sister._

"_Uh, Adam, somethin' tells me she's serious," Hoss had told his older brother after studying his sister's stubborn face. _

_"I am," gulped Sierra, trying to stay brave in front of her oldest brother's warning glare. 'You ain't..." _

_"Haven't," corrected Adam. _

_"Haven't," repeated Sierra with a roll of her eyes, "got time to correct me or tan my hide, so stop with the eyebrow raising thingy! If you don't let me come with you, I'll come anyway; I'll follow. You can't leave me here and you haven't got time to make sure I head home." _

"_All right, but you're going to stay behind us or else I'll make sure you don't sit for a week." Adam had finally given in, knowing full well that his sister not only meant what she had said but that she was right about time being of the essence. Who knew what mess Joe could have gotten himself into?_

Hoss couldn't hold back his laughter at the memory.

"What's so funny?" Adam asked, curious as to what Hoss could find to laugh about.

"I was just remembering the look on her face when Sierra demanded that she was coming with us," Hoss told him, still laughing. "Boy, she sure looked fierce, didn't she?"

Despite the situation, Adam found himself smile as he too remembered.

"Yeah, she sure did," he agreed. "Reminds me of her mother."

"You know, you're right," Hoss said thoughtfully as he compared the expressions of his little sister with that of Marie.

"You know, if we expect to get up at the crack of dawn in morning, we'd better get to bed," Adam told Hoss a few minutes later.

Hoss smiled, remembering how he had suggested that earlier.

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed as he stood to his feet and made his way over to his bedroll.

"Hey, Hoss," Adam called, as his brother climbed into his 'bed'.

"Yeah?" Hoss replied.

"Thanks," Adam told him, a grateful smile on his face.

Hoss smiled back. "You bet," was his reply as he lay down and within minutes, his loud snores filled the night.

-/-/-/-/-/-

As planned, Hoss and Adam were up and back on the trail of their younger siblings at the crack of dawn. By the time they had found the place where Joe and Sierra had camped the night before, the sun was high in the sky and both of them had been long gone. The two older Cartwrights carefully studied the tracks on the ground, reading them as easily as one would read a book.

"What're you gettin'?" Adam asked Hoss as he surveyed the area.

"Well," Hoss thought for a moment before continuing. "From the looks of things it looks like they rode the horse up to here." he said pointing at the ground where the tracks seemed to get lighter.

"Then they got off and Sierra helped Joe over to here where they took care of his wounds," Adam said as he followed the footprints on the ground over to where the blood-soaked strips of cloth had been left.

"Yep, then Sierra came back to the horse, probably to take care of 'im, and-" Hoss stopped as he studied the ground. It was obvious that the horse had moved from the time that they had gotten off to when Sierra had come back, but what was puzzling him was Sierra's prints. There were prints that distinctly showed her walking up to the horse's head, then to his side, and then- the prints got confusing. After studying them for a few minutes, Hoss looked up at Adam, worry clearly written on his face.

"Adam, I think Sierra's hurt too," Hoss told him.

"What?" Adam asked in disbelief as he knelt beside his younger brother to study the mosaic of markings on the ground. The longer he stared at them, the clearer it became to him. Joe wasn't the only one that was badly hurt. Sierra was too.

"Come on, we've got to get going," Adam said, standing to his feet and hurrying over to where they had left the horses. Hoss followed him and soon both brothers were following their younger siblings trail up the side of the mountain.

_**End of Flashback...**_

-/-/-/-/-

Sierra looked down at Joe's sleeping form. He had been asleep for awhile now, having woken up just long enough to drink some water. As much as he tried to hide it, Sierra knew how much pain he was in. What she did not know was that he knew that she was also hurt. Sierra had hid her own pain from her brother as best she could while she was trying to help tend him. Only when she was sure he was asleep did she tend to herself.

In her mind, she had convinced herself that her injury was punishment for not listening when Adam had told her to stay behind. It had been her fault that Joe had been hurt. He had been trying to save her when he had been shot; it had been her decision to take the horse up the mountain pass; the one which the horse had slipped resulting in Joe's broken leg.

Sierra lifted the corner of her shirt and removed the bandage to check her wound, gasping at what she saw. Where there should be nothing but a small bullet wound, instead the wound was inflamed. Fingers of fiery red streaked from the wound through her pale skin. Any movement at all rewarded her with an excruciating burning pain.

Suddenly, she felt lightheaded and dizzy. Dropping the bandage, Sierra gritted her teeth and got to her feet, knowing that she was going to be sick. Once she had rid herself of what little contents she'd had in her stomach, she slowly made her way back inside with one hand clutching her side and the other reaching out to support herself on the cave's sturdy rock walls.

Carefully, she sat down next to where Joe lay. He face was pale and dripping with sweat. He had a fever.

'There must be an infection,' Sierra thought to herself. There was nothing she could do for an infection. She had nothing. Even if she did, she doubted highly that she would've been able to do much in the condition that she was.

Sierra sighed.

'Let's face it,' she told herself. 'My brother's dying because I didn't listen to Adam and I can't even do anything to help him because I had to go and get myself shot too!' With a loud sob, she buried her face in her hands.

"Shh, don't cry, sis," Sierra heard Joe say as he rested his hand on the top of her head. "I ain't dead yet, jist a little hot is all."

"But it's all my fault!" Sierra told him, unable to hold back her tears. Joe's hand moved to her knee as Sierra raised her head to look at him. "If I had listened to Adam, you wouldn't've gotten hurt."

"No, it's not your fault," Joe tried to tell her firmly. Sierra dropped her eyes from his. "Sierra, look at me." She did. "Listen to me; it's not your fault," he whispered trying to hold on to his consciousness.

"But Joe, I can't even get you to a doctor," Sierra reminded him.

"But, look how far you did get," Joe told her. "You're wounded... too."

Sierra looked startled.

"You mean, you knew that I was hurt?" Sierra asked surprised. Joe nodded. "But how? I never told you."

Joe smiled. "Big brothers know everything," he said, knowing it would make his sister smile. That was a saying that each of her brothers liked to use whenever they knew something and she didn't.

Joe was right. A small smile found its way to Sierra's face. Joe reached his hand up to dry her tears.

"Now, why don't you lie down and rest," Joe suggested to her. "We, both need to rest., Adam and Hoss will catch up to us," he mumbled, wanting so much to close his eyes.

"That's it!" Sierra exclaimed with as much energy as she had.

"What?" Joe asked puzzled.

"Adam and Hoss," Sierra replied. "Don't you see? If I can't get you to a doctor, I can at least get Adam and Hoss here."

"Sis," Joe shook his head, " neither of us... in good enough shape," he reminded her.

"Joe, I've got to try. At least there's nothing wrong with my legs," Sierra told him. Slowly she raised up on her knees and pushed the canteen so that it was within his reach. "Don't worry, Joe, I'll be alright."

After giving him a kiss on the cheek, Sierra carefully got to her feet. Immediately, a wave of dizziness hit her and she reached out to steady herself on the rocky cave wall.

"Please, Sis, don't do this," Joe begged her, but his voice came out as a whisper. He was unable to move and could only hope that she would listen to him, but knew full well that she wouldn't. He watched as she slowly disappeared from sight, praying that their brothers would find her quickly.

-/-/-/-/-/-

The sun was setting as the two oldest Cartwright boys climbed up the steep mountain slope. They had left the horses at the foot of the slope, near where they had found the dead body of the horse that Sierra and Joe had been riding.

Wasting no time, they had merely slung their supplies over their backs before starting up the slope, following the obvious trail that Sierra had taken with a travois. Both brothers had been impressed with her thinking and skills when they examined the remains of the pieces of rope, leather and stripped foliage. Using the leather from the reigns and most likely the seat of a saddle, the young girl had been able to assemble a strong travois quickly.

Now, as they reached the top of the mountain, they surveyed the area for any signs of their siblings.

"How much farther ahead do you think they are?" Hoss asked Adam as they paused to rest a moment.

"They can't be too far," Adam replied. "I don't see any tracks that indicate that they went down the mountain."

"Yeah, they must've bedded down for the night around here somewheres," Hoss agreed.

"Look, it's going to be dark in a few hours so why don't we split up?" Adam suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Hoss said as they stood to their feet.

Hoss walked through the trees, searching for any clue that might have been left as to his younger siblings' whereabouts. He crossed a small stream and paused to take a drink of the cool clear water. Suddenly, something caught his eye.

Raising himself up to his full height, Hoss hurried over to the tree that caught his eye. One of the lower branches had been broken in a clumsy way. He studied the distance between it and the ground and concluded that it was right at Sierra's height.

"Sierra!" Hoss called as he followed the direction that he assumed she had been going when the branch had been broken. "Sierra!" he called again.

When no answer came he continued on and as he rounded a stand of pine trees, suddenly stopped short at what saw. There, lying on the ground in fallen heap, was his little sister Sierra.

"Sierra!" he exclaimed in alarm as he hurried forward and knelt by her side, his heart in his throat.

Carefully he checked her pulse. Dangerously weak, but at least it was there. What caught his eye next was the dark red stain that stretched across the side of her thin cotton shirt. Hoss felt tears come to his eyes as he gently smoothed the strands of windblown hair away from her face. Random splotches of blood stained her skin as well as her clothes in various places, but Hoss wasn't sure whether it was her blood or Joe's.

"Don't you worry, Shortcakes, we're gonna fix you up real good," Hoss promised as he stood to call for Adam. "Adam! Over here!" he pulled his gun from his holster and fired three times, before dropping back down to his sister's side.

-/-/-/-/-

**Well, how did you like it? Please be sure to leave a review and go have an awesome day/night!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so excited! Tomorrow's July 14****th****! Now that date might not mean anything to y'all, but it does to me. That's cause it's my 20****th**** birthday! Yay!**

**Ok, enough about me! Let me start by saying how grateful I am to everyone who has reviewed! You don't know how much I look forward to hearing from you! Ya'll have inspired me so much that I think I have an idea for another story about Sierra and her brothers! **** I haven't started working on it so might be a little while before I post it; I think I'll do what I did on this one, get the story pretty much written before I start posting it. **

**So anyways, here's the last chapter. There is an epilogue after this, but it's kinda short. I might upload it later tonight, not sure yet, but it will definitely be on here tomorrow! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

-/-/-/-/-

Chapter 4

_Running...run...run. Something was chasing her. She had to get away. Frantically she pushed through the low hanging branches and underbrush. She could hear it getting closer, closer, closer, until it was almost on top of her. The sound of its breathing reached her ears, threatening to cause her heart to stop. She was sure she felt its icy cold hand brush against her arm, sending a chill through her small body. She pulled away and ran...kept running..._

_As she broke through the last stand of trees, she felt her breath catch. Blocking the path in front of her was a rock wall. In panic, she whirled around to discover that she was trapped. The rock walls had her surrounded on three sides as the beast closed in on her from the trees of the opening. Its ragged breathing and the rustling of the branches told her it would only be a matter of seconds before it would reach her. _

_She shrank against the rock wall in terror as the beast burst through the last of the branches. Pausing only for a moment, it fixed its glowing red eyes on her, baring its teeth as it growled. _

_Then it charged. She tried to scream as she watched the beast rapidly coming nearer. But no sound came out. Just a few more steps and it would all be over. The beast opened its mouth wide revealing its monstrous sized teeth. She shut her eyes and screamed as she felt its jaws closing around her neck..._

"Hold her still, Hoss!"

"I'm trying, Adam!"

Sierra awoke with a scream to the feeling of excruciating pain in her right side. Someone was firmly holding her in place and their grip tightened slightly when she tried to escape whatever was causing the painful burning in her side.

"Shh, it's alright, Shortcakes, I've got you."

Sierra knew that voice; and even if she hadn't there was only one person who called her 'shortcakes.' "Hoss," she managed to croak out, as she opened her tired eyes to look up into the blurry image of her older brother's face. Her throat felt dry and she swallowed several times.

"Adam, she's awake," Hoss said, as he looked down to where Adam knelt.

Despite the pain she was feeling, Sierra felt her eyes open wide in surprise as she heard her oldest brother swear. As far back as she could remember, Sierra had never heard any of her brothers use such strong language. Well, maybe Joe when he was younger, but Pa had quickly put a stop to it. She knew that their father would not be happy if he knew the kind of choice words Adam had just used.

"Adam, maybe we should wait," Hoss suggested to his older brother. Though she couldn't see Adam, Sierra soon figured out where he was when she felt him shift his weight to sit on top on her legs, in a bid to keep her still.

"Hoss, I can see the bullet. We can't stop now," Adam's voice was stern, but Sierra heard the tremble in it. "That bullet's been there too long already. If we wait any longer..." Adam broke off, refusing to say the thought that was in all of their minds. He paused for a second before he spoke again, a slight tremble in his voice. "There doesn't seem to be any major damage to any organs, but I can't be sure. The bleeding has been bad and this lead bullet has to come out. Now. "

"Joe?" Sierra croaked out as she remembered her older brother's wounded condition. She thought she saw a smile flicker across Hoss' face as he answered.

"Little brother's gonna be just fine," he assured her. "But right now, it's you we need to worry about."

"Sierra, I know this hurts, but I need you to be as still as you can," Adam told his sister. "I've almost got it."

"Tell you what, put your hands right here on my arms," Hoss said as he gently placed one of Sierra's hands on both of his strong arms. "Now, whenever it hurts real bad, I want you to squeeze as hard as you can. Can you do that?"

Sierra nodded.

"All right, Adam," Hoss said with a nod; once he had a firm grip on his sister's shoulders. Sierra's eyes locked with his, as Adam once again began the process of removing the bullet from her side.

Sierra tried her best to stay still, but the pain was almost unbearable. Hoss's eyes held hers firmly as he kept her pinned down. Tears clouded her vision and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Her fingers bit into the tough skin on her older brother's arms, but Hoss didn't mind.

Watching his sister writhe in pain was one of the hardest things Hoss had ever done. He watched as her eyes had latched onto his as if somehow she hoped she could find relief in them. When her eyes had filled with tears and she'd been forced to close them, Hoss felt his own eyes water. He wished that there was some way that he could ease her pain, or better yet take it away from her. But, there was nothing that he could do. So he concentrated on holding her still, while he whispered softly to her. After a few minutes, Hoss felt her go limp under his gentle grip.

"Hoss!" Adam exclaimed, shooting his brother a worried glance as Hoss caught one of her limp hands in his as they slipped from his arms. He held her wrist for a few seconds.

"She's just passed out," Hoss told his older brother, a tiny smile of relief tugged on the big man's once cheery face.

Adam didn't realize that he'd been holding his breath until he let it out with a loud sigh.

"How much longer?" Hoss asked.

Adam didn't raise his head as he answered.

"Not much. I've almost got it," was his reply. Neither brother spoke a word until Adam broke the silence a few minutes later. "Got it," he said as he triumphantly held up bullet that been the cause of his sister's pain. Depositing the object on the ground beside him, he set to work at patching Sierra back up.

-/-/-/-/-/-

A few hours later, Hoss and Adam sat next to the small campfire they built in the mouth of the cave. Since neither boy had been hungry, Hoss had simply made coffee. Normally Adam would have refused the outstretched cup of coffee considering who had made it, but the awful taste of the coffee was the furthest thing from his mind.

If Hoss had looked up at his older brother's face, he would have seen the moisture on Adam's cheeks. Adam wasn't one for crying. In fact, Hoss could count on the fingers of one of his hands as to the number of times he had seen his big brother cry.

But, as he sat there remembering the way he seen his sister writhe in pain, Adam couldn't stop the tears. Besides Pa, Adam had always been the family's strength. He had been the one that would comfort his younger siblings when they had woken from a nightmare, often allowing them to crawl into his own bed with him. Now, he was the voice reason that they went to whenever they needed help. True, there were times when he couldn't resist teasing them, but he loved each one of his younger brothers and his sister.

Besides Joe, Adam had to admit that Sierra had tried his patience the most. Her headstrong stubborn spirit often hit him in the face. Between her and Joe, there were many times that he wished that he wasn't the oldest. How many times had he had to bail the two of them out of some foolhardy scheme- usually thought up by Joe- that had gone wrong? Adam shook his head in amusement as he remembered some of the schemes.

A groan drew his attention back to reality. Setting his coffee cup on the ground in such haste, that he almost knocked it over, Adam stood to his feet and made his way over to where the two youngest Cartwrights were lying, with Hoss not far behind him. Kneeling down between them, he realized that the groan had come from Joe. Though he wasn't fully awake, Adam could tell that it wouldn't be long before he was. Gently he put his hand to his youngest brother's forehead and let out a sigh of relief when he found that his fever had finally broken. Earlier, Hoss had given him some medicine that would bring the fever down, but Adam hadn't been able to shake himself of the worried feeling in his gut.

For years, the three youngest Cartwrights had teased Adam about the range of medical supplies that he kept in his saddle bags; bandages and salves, peroxide, and some of Hop Sing's special herbs, even sewing needles. But none of them could count the number of times that the items in his saddle bags had come in handy while out on the range.

With another groan, Joe's eyelids opened, revealing his emerald green eyes. A smile appeared on his battered face at the sight of his older brothers.

"Hey," he croaked out, realizing the dryness in his throat. Adam unscrewed the top on the canteen and raised his brother up just enough for him to get a drink.

"How you feeling, Little Joe?" Adam asked once Joe had finished.

"Fine as a frog hair," was Joe's reply.

Hoss snorted. "If 'fine' describes a broken leg, a gunshot wound, and a gash on your head then remind me never to use that word again," he told his little brother.

Joe's tired eyes met his and Hoss saw the twinkle in them. "I'll remember that, brother," Joe replied. Then his face grew serious. "How's Sierra?"

"Shh," Adam said, pointing behind him to where their sister lay, sleeping peacefully for the first time in two days. "She's going to be alright."

Joe's smile widened as he thought about how brave his little sister had been. "You would've been proud of her, Adam," he told his oldest brother, his pride filling his voice. "No matter how much she was hurting, she was determined to get me to the doctor. Even after the horse slipped, she somehow managed to drag me all the way up here."

"I am proud... of both of you," Adam assured him, his mouth widening into a smile of his own. "Now, I think that's enough talking. You need to rest."

For a moment, Adam saw the stubbornness that flashed through Joe's eyes and he was afraid that his youngest brother was going to protest his need of sleep. But, before either could say anything, a huge yawn almost split Joe's face in two.

"I guess I am a little tired," Joe admitted quietly as he found his eyelids growing heavy with sleep. Gently, Adam pulled the woollen blanket up to his youngest brother's chin.

"Sleep well, Little Joe," Hoss whispered softly.

Adam stopped to check on Sierra before he went back to his spot by the fire. Satisfied that both of his younger siblings were getting their much needed rest, Adam settled down on his bedroll. The intensity of the day's events as well as the lack of sleep the night before had worn him out and as he glanced over at Hoss, he saw that his younger brother was having trouble keeping his eyes open too. The two of them had decided to take turns keeping watch during the night in case either of their siblings happened to take a turn for the worse.

"Go to sleep, Hoss," Adam told the half-awake boy. "I'll take the first watch."

"Ya sure?" Hoss managed to ask from behind a yawn.

Adam smiled. "Yeah, you get some rest. I'll wake you in a couple of hours," he said.

Hoss nodded in agreement. "G'night Adam," Hoss muttered as he lay down on his bedroll and soon was fast asleep, his loud snores echoing off the walls of the cave.

"Good night, Hoss," Adam whispered softly as he lifted the half-filled cup of coffee to his lips and wrinkled his nose at the taste.

Smiling in amusement, he shook his head and settled back on his bedroll. From the place where he lay, Adam had a good view of the sky. He lay on his back, hands folded behind his head, staring up at the millions of stars that dotted the night sky. For the first time in two days, he realized that the knot of worry that had stubbornly remained in his gut was gone.

"Everything's all right," Adam whispered to himself, knowing that it was the truth.

-/-/-/-/-

**Well, what did you think? Please make to leave a review and go have an awesome day/night! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, I got a good number of reviews for my third chapter so I decided to be nice and go ahead and upload the epilogue. That and the fact that since it's finally my 20****th**** birthday today! I'd like to try and let all of my readers know how much they mean to me, namely **_**islaboe, gaben, flufykitty12, MGM, Bobby**_**, and **_**fanficalicious**_** for their reviews! You don't know how much I've looked forward to your reviews! They have not only given me awesome advice, but also have kept me encouraged to continue updating this story! **

**This epilogue is kinda short, but it does tie up some loose ends that a few of my readers have kindly brought to my attention. Not mention that it also shows a special Adam/ Sierra moment that has been requested. I hope you enjoy! ;)**

**-/-/-/-/-**

**Epilogue **

Four weeks later the two youngest Cartwrights were well on their way to being fully recovered. If it were not for Joe's broken leg, the two restless teenagers would have surely been getting up to new adventures.

As it was, neither Sierra nor Joe even had half a chance at escaping the confines of their recuperation. Sierra's wound and stitches, made lifting anything almost impossible, so it was her job, or punishment rather, to keep Joe occupied and off his leg. Which was all fine and good, but dealing with Joe's grouchy mood was making her even more anxious to escape. To top it all off, Hoss too, had been confined to the house and yard chores, so he could be on hand to lift and carry Joe; which he didn't mind too much as staying close to the house meant food... Hop Sing had her baking pies and biscuits to keep the hungry men of the Ponderosa satisfied. Normally the task of cooking didn't bother her too much, recently however, the task only seemed to remind her of her inability to do many of the outside jobs that she was longing to be doing.

Adam had to laugh seeing his little sister, being bossed around by the Chinese cook, knowing too well she would have rather been out riding, catching strays, or even mending fences. Instead she had been sentenced to the more feminie pursuits of ranch life along with the extra studies that he had insisted she complete after having to miss so much school. He remembered the conversation that had taken place not long after he and Hoss had brought their younger siblings home.

It was late and all of the Cartwrights had retired to their rooms for the night, except for Joe and Sierra who had been confined to their beds for the time being. Adam was lying on his bed intently reading a new book when a sound from Sierra's room next door caught his attention. He listened carefully for a few minutes. There it was again.

Slowly Adam closed his book and set it on table beside his bed before making his way to his sister's bedroom door. Inside, he could just barely make out the sound of crying. Silently, he pushed open her door, making his way over to her bed where Sierra lay crying into her pillow. The mournful sound of the fifteen year old girl's crying tore at Adam's heart in a way that nothing else ever had. Although he liked to think of himself as strong and steadfast, he knew that his little sister's tears would always affect him this way. He sat on the side of her bed and gently rested his hand on top of one of hers.

"Hey there, Littl'in, what's wrong?" Adam asked her softly.

With a start, Sierra's head jerked up, revealing her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "I didn't mean to wake you," Sierra apologized, wiping away the moisture from her face with the back of her hand.

Adam shook his head. "I wasn't asleep," he told her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'," Sierra said, dropping her head and refusing to look at her oldest brother.

Adam wasn't convinced. He knew that having been raised by her father and with three older brothers had made her into a tough cowgirl. She wouldn't cry over nothing."Sierra, look at me," Adam's voice was gentle, but his tone told Sierra that he meant to be obeyed. Slowly, she raised her head just enough so that her eyes could meet his. "Now, tell me what's wrong and don't say 'nothin'."

Adam watched as her eyes began to fill with tears again. "Oh, Adam, it's all my fault! If I had only listened to you, Joe wouldn't've gotten hurt!" she burst into tears as she dropped her head into her hands.

Adam sighed. He should've seen this coming. Despite her headstrong nature, Sierra often tended to blame herself when things didn't turn out like she had expected. He guessed maybe she had gotten that from him as everyone often told that he too did that same thing.

Gently, he pulled his sister's trembling frame into his strong embrace. Sierra wrapped her arms around her brother and buried her face in his chest as the tears continued to flow freely from her eyes. Adam held her tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head and slowly rubbing her back while waiting for her to finish her cry.

When Sierra's sobs had dropped to sniffles, Adam figured that she was now ready to talk.

"First of all, yes, you should've listened to me and stayed with the horses," he began as Sierra gently pushed herself away from her older brother, wiping the tears from her eyes. "If you had, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"I'm sorry, Adam," Sierra said softly, not able to meet her brother's gaze. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

"Secondly, Joe getting hurt wasn't your fault," Adam continued. "To tell you the truth, if it hadn't been for you; who knows how badly he would've been hurt."

"But Adam, if Joe hadn't been trying to save me, he wouldn't 've been hurt," Sierra reminded him with a sniffle.

Adam chuckled softly. "You know Joe, if he hadn't have been hurt then, he would've been hurt some other way," he assured her.

"Are you really mad at me?" Sierra asked her oldest brother timidly.

A smile lit up Adam's face. "No, I'm not mad, this time. Besides, seeing you hurt dissolved any feelings of wanting to blister your hide. " he smirked, before growing serious again. "Actually, I'm really proud of you."

Sierra's head jerked up to look at her brother in surprise. "You're kidding," she said.

Adam shook his head. "No, Joe told us about how you were determined to get him to a doctor no matter how badly you yourself were hurt," he said, pride evident in his voice. "It took a lot of courage to do what you did, Littlin'."

Sierra blushed lightly at her oldest brother's praise. She longed for the praise and approval of her father and all of her brothers, but for some reason unknown to her, she had always coveted Adam's the most. Maybe it was the fact that he seemed to be the hardest one to please; there was nothing that Sierra looked forward to more than a challenge.

"Next time though, I do hope that you'll listen to me and stay out of the way of danger," Adam sternly told his little sister, though Sierra caught the twinkle in his eyes.

Sierra smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, Adam, I will," she assured him. Her smile spread, causing Adam's smile to grow too. Though she never meant to break her word, Adam knew that it wouldn't be long before her stubborn Cartwright spirit would flare up and no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't be able to control it.

"All right now, how about you try to go to sleep?" Adam suggested. Sierra lay back down on her mattress and Adam pulled the quilt up to her chin, gently tucking it around her.

"Adam?" Sierra asked.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" she asked. Adam smiled warmly at her.

"Sure," he told her. "How 'bout I sing?"

Sierra nodded tiredly. And with that Adam started to sing, his voice soft and sweet.

_In the pines, in the pines  
Where the sun never shines  
And you shiver when the cold wind blows_

Tell me why, tell me why,  
You went away without even saying good-bye  
You cause me the grieve  
You cause me the mourn  
You left me here to cry

In the pines, in the pines  
Where the sun never shines  
And you shiver when the cold wind blows

The wind, in the trees  
Brings memories  
Of a love I thought was true  
You gave me tears  
And empty years  
For the love I gave to you

In the pines, in the pines  
Where the sun never shines  
And you shiver when the cold wind blows  
And you shiver when the cold wind blows.  
In The Pines

As the last notes of the song died away, Adam looked down at his little sister to find her sleeping soundly. He smiled as he bent to gently kiss her forehead.

"You are one special girl," he whispered softly, lovingly brushing the loose brown wisps away from his sister's face. "Good night, Littlin'."

-/-/-/-/-/-

**Well, that finishes up this story. How did you like it? The next one I have in mind features Sierra when she convinces Ben and Adam to let her go with her brothers on their annual camping/hunting trip. What kind of adventures are the four Cartwrights going to run into and will Sierra be able to keep her promise to Adam to stay out of trouble? You'll have to wait and find out! **

**Also, I don't know if you noticed, but I didn't give Sierra's horse a name. That's because I haven't been able to decide on one. So, I thought y'all might like to help me name her. The horse is a black Appaloosa mare with white speckles on her rump, a white blaze on her face and three white socks. I had thought about Snowstorm or some Indian name meaning 'spotted' or 'wild one' as the horse was originally an Indian pony. Any suggestions are welcome! Please leave them in your review and if there's anything special you'd like to see happen in the next story, feel free to let me know and I'll see if I can work them in somewhere. **

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed this story! Be on the lookout for the next story and go have an awesome day/night!**


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